Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her oral statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report column 251, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using her powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 to increase the number of foreign dentists qualified to practice in the UK.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made an assessment of the merits of using powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 (PQ Act) to increase the number of overseas-qualified dentists able to practice in the United Kingdom.
The PQ Act affirmed the Government’s commitment to protect the autonomy of regulators, including the General Dental Council, to assess overseas-gained professional qualifications and make decisions about whether individuals meet the requirements to work in a regulated profession in the UK.
The PQ Act contains a power for the Government to implement international agreements. This power was used to implement the UK’s free trade agreement with the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association member states in 2023, meaning that UK regulators are now required to recognise comparable qualifications obtained in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Work is currently underway to use the PQ Act power to implement the UK-Swiss Recognition of Professional Qualifications Agreement by 1 January 2025.
Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Oral Statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, how she defines Somerset in the context of the area across which dentistry vans will be deployed.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
We will deploy dental vans offering appointments to patients in targeted rural and coastal communities who have the most limited access to dentistry, including Somerset, starting later this year.
We are currently working with NHS England and the integrated care boards (ICBs), including NHS Somerset ICB, to agree the exact number of vans, and where they will be deployed. I expect to be able to provide more details on this in due course.
Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many officials were working in his Department on (a) the date of the appointment and (b) 18 July 2023.
Answered by Will Quince
On 31 October 2022, the total number of civil servants employed within the core Department (excluding Arm’s Length Bodies) was 3,978. As of 18 July 2023, the total number of civil servants employed by the Department was 3,316.
Please note that these figures do not show the full establishment workforce of the Department in line with published figures on GOV.UK. Contingent Labour, secondments in, Fast Streamers and vacancies are not included.
Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of supply of the drug Actavis Propranolol in pharmacies in (a) North East Somerset and (b) Somerset.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Department is assured the supply of Actavis immediate release propranolol tablets is sufficient to meet normal demand. Actavis modified release propranolol capsules are currently unavailable. However, they are expected to be back in stock by the end of July and supplies of generic propranolol capsules are currently available from an alternative manufacturer. The Department does not have information on stock holding of propranolol at a local level.